Liquid crystal display cells are widely used as display elements which consume low energy, and there has been progress in the enlargement of the size of the elements together with the improvement of their performance. In general, in producing liquid crystal display cells, a method (an empty cell-forming method) in which a so-called empty cell is formed by sticking a transparent liquid crystal display cell substrate (hereinafter, referred to as substrate) with a sealing agent for liquid crystal display cell (hereinafter, sealing agent) and then a liquid crystal-forming compound is injected into this empty cell under vacuum, is used. However, there are problems in that it takes an extremely long time to produce a large-size liquid crystal display cell, since a liquid crystal-forming compound having a relatively high viscosity is needed to be inserted. Therefore, at present, a method (a liquid crystal-dropping and sealing method) in which a liquid crystal-forming compound is laminated on a transparent substrate, a sealing agent is applied to the peripheral portion of the substrate, and then the substrate is stuck with the other substrate under vacuum by evacuation of air, and the sealing agent is heated or photocured to form a liquid crystal display cell.
Examples of a known thermosetting sealing agent such as single liquid epoxy resin compositions are disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication Nos. 2001-064483 and 2001-100224. Examples of a photocuring sealing agent are disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 6-160872. On the other hand, the disclosure of an acrylate resin composition which can be cured by a two liquid-unmixed contact and can seal the liquid crystal has not yet been made.
Meanwhile, a liquid crystal-dropping and sealing method as disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2001-133794 and No. 9-5759 is a good method that can be applied to even large-sized liquid crystal display cells. However, in a method of curing with light, the light does not always pass through the portion required to form elements such as black matrix or electrode, whereby the sealing agent is not sufficiently cured, or it takes long time to cure the sealing agent. So thus, problems such as photo-degradation of the liquid crystal occur additionally. Also, in thermosetting method, since the liquid crystal display cell is subject to a high temperature for sufficient curing, problems such as the distortion of the cell in addition to thermal deterioration of the liquid crystal are caused. And there has been a problem in that the liquid crystal is contaminated with the conventional sealing agent. Further, in both methods as described above, there has been a problem in that large amount of energy should be consumed by heating the whole portion or by irradiating light over the whole portion.
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a novel method for producing a liquid crystal display cell capable of efficiently provide the large or small liquid crystal display element having sufficient high reliability and high quality within a given time without any particular difference from the conventional liquid crystal-dropping and sealing method, which does not substantially require photocuring or thermosetting process and satisfying so called high productivity, little energy and high quality durability, and a novel sealing agent which can be suitably used of said method.